


Secrets of the Deep

by AquaMarina (LittlePandemonium)



Category: Stingray (UK TV), Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:53:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29117808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlePandemonium/pseuds/AquaMarina
Summary: International Rescue are on a mission to save a stricken submarine.
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well looky here - a rare crossover event!
> 
> I actually wasn't going to post this one until I'd finished Adversity but my friend convinced me that you guys may want something to read whilst waiting for the other story so I thought - yeah, why not?
> 
> If this story picks up momentum I'll get chapters up faster. Multi-tasking!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

John yawned loudly.

As always, he'd spent most of the day sitting at his control panel on Thunderbird 5, monitoring the different channels to see if anyone was in need of assistance. It had been a pretty quiet day so John had been able to do a little bit of stargazing on the side, jotting some notes down in his journal to keep as a reference.

Yawning once more, John closed his journal and wheeled himself over to the consoles relaying radio traffic. As he got nearer, he discovered the sound of country and western blaring through one of the speakers. He frowned and tried using one of his dials go lower the sound, but the same awful noise continued blasting through.

"Geez, get a taste in music, you weirdos." he scoffed to himself, sliding back towards his other consoles. He listened to see if anyone was making a call, trying to ignore the dull drawls of the country singer.

_"Calling International Rescue... Calling International Rescue... Is this what you're supposed to do? I can't hear anything."_

John made his way over to the central control panel, flicking the controls off mute. He answered aimably. "This is International Rescue, how can we be of service?"

~~~~~

"And that, my friend, is checkmate."

"What do you mean checkmate? It's my fourth move." Alan spat, eyeing up the chessboard.

Gordon smirked as he removed Alan's pawn from the board. "You should know by now that I'm the master of chess, Al."

Alan just groaned in response, ruffling his hand through his hair. "That's just so unfair."

"Life's unfair, kiddo." Gordon laughed and narrowly missed being struck by a cushion, dodging at the very last second.

The blonde rolled his eyes and walked over to the balcony, wincing as the outside wave of humidity hit him. He soon smiled as the beautiful horizon came into view, perfectly framed by the palm trees. He sighed happily, taking in the smell of the sea.

Alan looked down at the terrace to see Scott and Virgil sitting by the pool, both enjoying the sunshine. Virgil was sunbathing on the lounger and Scott was next to him, reading his magazine, feet resting up on another chair.

Gordon soon appeared beside Alan and followed his gaze down to their older brothers. They both looked much too peaceful for his liking. His mouth widened into a cheshire grin and he turned to his younger brother. "Oh this is just too perfect. Want to ruin their day?"

Alan felt his mouth curve up into a smirk, "I'm game. Is dad about?"

"No, I think he's down in the lab with Brains and Tin-Tin." Gordon responded, recalling what Grandma had told him a few hours earlier. "If we get them now, we should be in the clear!"

"Alright, sounds like a plan. Speaking of plans, what do you have in mind?"

"I'm thinking the old one-two pool shove."

Alan chuckled, "Virgil?"

"Oh yeah, it's gotta be Virgil."

The terrible twosome made their way down the stairs via Kyrano's allotments, allowing them to sneak behind their unsuspecting brothers.

Virgil was dozing on the sun lounger, slightly shaded by the table parasol. With his sunglasses firmly in place on his eyes, the artist had no chance of sensing his two brothers until it was too late.

As quick as a flash, Gordon and Alan had seized the entire lounger, carrying it to the edge before unceremoniously dumping him in the pool. Virgil resurfaced coughing and spluttering, moving his sunglasses to the bridge of his nose to see the culprits. "You!"

Gordon and Alan laughed as they placed the lounger back down, Gordon quickly sliding onto it before Alan could. Alan rolled his eyes and made his way over to the bemused Scott, pulling out a chair.

"Hey Scott." he greeted calmly, as if nothing had happened.

"Alan." Scott nodded.

Virgil was still cursing at being pushed in the pool, the drag on his outfit making it awkward to swim. "I'll remember this, Gordon!"

"It was Alan's idea!" Gordon quickly shot back, causing Alan to pout.

"It was not, it was yours! You wanted to do the old one-two."

"Still makes you an accessory." Scott pointed out, causing Alan's frown to deepen.

"Hey, whose side are you on anyway?"

"Certainly not yours, mate!" Gordon laughed. "A surprise, really. We all know you're his favourite."

Scott frowned, lowering his magazine. "Now you take that back, Gordon Cooper Tracy. You know I don't choose favourites."

"Could've fooled me." Gordon quipped, looking over at the struggling Virgil. "Hey grumpy, need a hand?"

"Some help would be nice, yes."

"Coolio." Gordon hopped up and approached his stricken brother, holding out a supportive hand. Virgil reached up to grab it then yanked his brother into the pool with him. Gordon did a flip before submerging.

"Good one Virg'. I did not see that coming."

"I totally did. Not everyone's slow like you, Scott. Ow!"

Gordon kicked himself upright, shaking out his waterlogged locks. "Touché, oh brother o' mine."

Virgil heaved himself up onto the side of the pool. "That makes us even."

"No bother to me! I wanted a cool dip anyway!" Gordon beamed, beginning to do a backstroke.

Virgil remained on the edge of the pool, watching the swimmer at work. He turned his head around to briefly speak to Scott for a moment and when he turned back he was hit in the face by a soggy shirt. On removing the wet clothing from off his head, he saw a topless Gordon giving him the V sign.

A bleeping noise cut through their idyllic paradise, bringing them down to reality.

"We've got a mission, boys!" Scott quickly stood up, Alan and Virgil springing up immediately after. "Fish boy, get your butt out of that pool and follow on!"

Gordon quickly swam over to the edge and pulled himself up, catching the towel that Alan dutifully threw for him. He wrapped it around himself to dry the excess water off.

The four men rushed into the Tracy Villa, making a beeline for their father's desk.

Jeff was already sitting there. As soon as his four boys turned up, he activated John's bleeping portrait, allowing the feed to go live. "Go ahead, John."

"Three members of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol have gone missing in their vessel, father. It's believed to have been knocked off course by a Greek hurricane ravaging the area they were scouting. Marineville's last transmission with the submarine indicated that they were heading due north, in the direction of the Aegean Sea - straight into the eye of the storm."

"The WASPs?" Gordon gasped.

Jeff frowned. This complicated things. "Have they tried organizing their own search and rescue mission?"

"Lieutenant Shore informed me that their first aerial search failed due to the adverse weather conditions in the area. Furthermore, none of their other submersible craft have the capabilities or speed to reach them before their air supply runs out."

"Why would they willingly go towards a cyclone? I know they're underwater, but still! That's gotta be bad news all around." Alan noted, shaking his head.

"Marineville tracking stations recorded the vessel making some pretty erratic movements before it disappeared. Speed increased to 700 knots before suddenly being reduced to 200."

"700 knots?" Virgil looked over at Gordon. "I didn't think WASP submersibles were capable of speeds like that!"

Gordon frowned in thought. "I know they were developing a few projects when I was there but naturally they were all top secret. I heard rumours that the boffins up top were developing three new craft and their top speed would be 600 knots but I don't know how true that is."

"It still doesn't explain why they accelerated into a hurricane." Scott mused. "System malfunction?"

"Most likely."

"I get the picture. It's Fireflash 4 all over again."

"So, what's the action?" Alan inquired, "Thunderbird 4 will be needed, but this makes things a little difficult."

"Not necessarily."

"You forget, Gordon - you used to be a part of that organization." Jeff countered. "If the crew are alive and recognize you-"

"But what if they don't? We can't let three innocent people die over something as trivial as that." Gordon argued back. "I can perform the rescue remotely."

"Yeah, we managed alright with Houseman." Alan put in.

"What do you say, father?" John asked.

Jeff remained quiet for a few moments, making a decision. He looked up at his sons. "Alright. This is what I want you to do. Scott, take off for Greece. John will set you up with a viable place to land and set up mobile control. Oh, John? Have you monitored the path of the hurricane?"

"Yes, it poses no risk to the country itself. It's sea-going."

"Good. Off you go, Scott."

"Right." Scott crossed the room and stood in-between the lamps, vanishing behind the wall as he activated them.

"I'll tell Marineville you're on route." John said, dismissing himself.

"What about us, father?" Alan asked.

"Virgil, launch Thunderbird 2 and take Thunderbird 4 with you. Be mindful of wind shear. I know she's capable of flying through hurricanes but you never know when an issue may arise. Any problems and you contact Brains immediately."

"Got it."

"Off you go."

"Yes sir." both men chorused, one heading towards his own hidden entrance while the second headed to the lift which would take him down to Thunderbird 2's silo.

"See you in a sec, Virgil."

"Make sure you shower before coming up onto the flight deck. I don't want chlorine dripping everywhere." Virgil warned, before disappearing behind the wall.

Gordon rolled his eyes as the elevator doors closed.

Jeff and Alan exchanged a glance.

"I'll be monitoring their progress from afar, won't I?" Alan said, a little deflated.

Jeff smiled at his youngest son, placing his hands on his shoulders. "And monitoring the weather patterns."

"Greaaat."

Jeff smirked and led him onto the veranda. They watched as the swimming pool slid back, allowing Thunderbird 1 to launch into the sky. A few moments later, the powerful jets of Thunderbird 2 could be heard coming from the cliff runway. The green behemoth took off and followed its sister towards the danger zone.

Alan grinned, turning to his dad. "I bet the navy hated asking for help. Just shows how useless their craft are."

Jeff chuckled. "Come on Alan, you best get studying those weather charts."

The young man groaned, turning back into the lounge. His father remained on the balcony, looking into the sky. He thought about the type of rescue his boys would be facing. With Gordon potentially exposing himself to ex-crewmates, Jeff had a right to be worried.

He just hoped everything would go without a hitch.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is GO!

“Are we there yet?”

“Do you have to say that every time you’re up here?”

“Yep.”

Virgil rolled his eyes and punched in the button that opened up the radio channel that linked to his older brother’s aircraft. “Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 1. Do you read me?”

 _“Loud and clear Virgil.”_

“I’ve just crossed the Southern African plains and should be arriving at the danger zone shortly. How are things your end?”

_“I’ve landed in Zakros on the Island of Crete. I’ve been speaking with the local police and they’ve updated me with the most recent weather information. The hurricane is now moving in an easterly direction with wind speeds of up to 128 miles per hour. It’s pretty rough out there so no joyriding.”_

“She’s handled worse.”

_“Just be careful out there, alright?”_

“F.A.B.” Virgil conceded.

_“I’ve set up Mobile Control and am now awaiting radio communication with Marineville for further rescue details.”_

“Have you not heard from them then?” Virgil asked, figuring that to be a little odd.

_“Not yet. John said something about their communications centre being down. He’s talking with them now and figuring out what to do. I think he’s planning to transmit a two-way radio link via Five.”_

“Their communications are down?” Gordon frowned. “I don’t like the sound of that. There could be more going on than they’re letting on.”

“That really doesn’t surprise me to be honest.” Virgil deadpanned, turning his attention back to Scott. “Thanks Scott. Let me know when you hear from them.”

_“Sure thing, Virg. Over and out.”_

Virgil switched off the radio. The fact that the World Aquanaut Security Patrol’s communications were completely down unnerved him a little. There was definitely something else going on. Trying not to get too bogged down in his thoughts, he turned to his younger brother. “You best start preparing Thunderbird 4 for the drop. It probably won’t be long now.”

Gordon nodded, jumping to his feet. Before leaving, he walked over to the pilot seat and held a hand on the headrest of his brother’s chair, ducking a little to peer out of the large curved window making up the top half of the cockpit. Black clouds could be seen looming in the distance, the odd flash of lightning exploding in the clouds. Gordon whistled loudly. “This one’s gonna be fun.” he ran a hand through his auburn locks. “Think I better fill the nacelles with air, just in case I need to do an emergency ascent. I don’t want to keep you waiting in THAT for any longer than I have to.”

Virgil smiled at his brother’s consideration. “Thanks, but I should be fine. As I said to Scott, she’s handled worse. I’ll just mosey around the outskirts of it and rendezvous with you when you’re ready.”

“Cool beans. I’m hoping this will be as simple as finding the sub, attaching a line, and towing her to safety. I won’t even have to show my face.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice?” Virgil mused, eyes flickering towards the encroaching storm. “Go on, get going. Just remember to strap yourself down. It’s going to get rather bumpy up here shortly and you’ll feel it more in the Pod.”

“Yes dad.” Gordon patted Virgil’s head before turning and walking across to the cabin elevator at the back of the cockpit. Gordon strolled inside and turned on his heel as the cage door came sliding down. He cheerfully saluted his brother. “Be seeing you!”

“I hope...” Virgil muttered to himself once the elevator had dropped from the cabin. He sighed and faced the wall of thick black cloud which was steadily sweeping into view, hoping the rescue would go as easy as Gordon said it would.

~~~~~

Scott’s fingers idly tapped against the middle column of the control module, awaiting his space bound brother to get in touch with him. 

He’d practically been left in the dark since his last contact with John, and now the pilot was having to deal with other unwanted interruptions; namely, tourists. He turned back to see a large crowd trying to gather around his prized rocket, the police struggling to hold them back. Despite this, he was thankful that Captain Papadaki had been understanding of International Rescue’s privacy, as well as the nature of the rescue itself. It wasn’t everyday they were having to deal with the Navy.

He’d just have to deal with the excited sightseers in the meantime.

“I’m not a tourist attraction.” Scott grumbled, turning back to his control panels. His controls soon lit up.

_“This is Thunderbird 5 calling Thunderbird 1. You hear me, Scott?”_

Scott flicked a button on the console, putting him through to the satellite. “It’s about time you called me! Finally gotten back in touch with them, have you?”

_”Yeah. They’ve been a little preoccupied with their communications blackout, but have just sent me the last coordinates recorded on the submarine’s voyage data. I’ll patch them through to you now.”_

“Thanks John.” Scott recorded them down on his map, noting the position. “Not too far away from Alan’s pinpoint then.”

 _”Yeah, it’s around the same area they reckon, but with this moderate swell and wind force, it’s likely to have been moved by the tide.”_

“Great. I’ll fill Gordon in when I get a chance.”

_”Oh, and I have the World Aquanaut Security Patrol on the line for you. I’ll connect them through now.”_

“Thanks John.” Scott waited for the radio line to clear. A few moments later, a cheerful voice joined the line.

_“Hello? Is this International Rescue?”_

“Yes, this is International Rescue. Hearing you strength five.”

 _”This is Marineville Control Centre. Can I just say how much of an HONOUR it is to even be speaking to you, sir? I follow all of your rescues closely and just knew you’d guys would jump at the chance to help us!”_ said an energetic voice that sounded oddly like John’s.

Scott raised an eyebrow at the obvious excitement in the voice of the young man on the other end of the radio, not expecting any of the WASP personnel to come across as so chipper and informal. “Uh... you’re welcome?”

 _“Fisher, get away from that darn microphone!”_ a gruff voice entered the conversation, killing off the excited one. _“Damn boy scout. Ahem. Commander Shore here. Sorry about my lieutenant, and the delay in contacting you. We’ve been having some problems.”_

“Yes, I’ve been told. My colleagues have almost arrived so we’ll be commencing the rescue shortly. Can you tell me more about the missing submarine?”

_”First I must have your reassurance that these details and specifications will not be repeated. The missing submarine is one of our top vessels so secrecy must be maintained.”_

“I understand, sir. These details will not be repeated outside our organization.”

_”Good. The vessel is an 85 foot long hydrojet submersible. Weighs about 320 tons. Her name is Stingray and has a crew of three - all were on board at the time of its disappearance. By my calculations, they should have about an hour’s air supply left on board. This is all I can give you right now.”_

“Thank you, commander.” 

_”Listen up, mister. As much as I’m unhappy about asking for outside help with our personal affairs, I know when I’m beat and need the assistance. As your colleague may have already told you, we’ve experienced a complete power failure here in Marineville. Despite this we managed to send out rescue aircraft to search for the sub, but that blasted hurricane was too powerful and cut the trip short. I hate to admit it, but our aircraft do not have the same capabilities that yours do. This is why I’m counting on you to save Stingray.”_

“Message understood, sir. My colleagues and I will keep you informed about the situation and let you know as soon as we’ve found her.” 

_“Thank you. My two lieutenants will be on standby, awaiting your call. Over and out.”_

Scott disconnected the link. He repeated the information he’d just been told so it would remain fresh in his mind. “320 tons? Gee, I hope Thunderbird 4 will be able to cope with pulling that dead weight...” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kind words so far. Hope you enjoy this next bit!

Alan studied the world map with narrowed eyes as he plotted Stingray’s position. John had just gotten back in contact with base and informed the remaining Tracys about everything he’d been told by the Marineville commander, including a rough location of the where the submarine was presumed to have gone missing. 

Alan noted the ocean coordinates of the area Gordon would be canvassing down on the map, and had just relayed the same information back to his brother via his watch. Happy with the position, the redhead signed off, leaving Alan momentarily gazing at the watch face with a sense of dejection. There was nothing more he could do.

After signing off from talking to John, Jeff got up from his desk and walked over to his youngest son. “Everything okay, Alan?”

“Yeah, I’ve let Gordon know the position he’ll be diving at and cautioned him of the underwater terrain he’ll be facing.”

“Good job Alan.” 

Alan closed the map. “I guess all we can do now is wait, huh?”

Jeff wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “They’ll call us if they need anything else, son. Come on, your grandmother’s waiting to serve lunch.”

Alan stood up. “John have anything else to say?”

Jeff led his son towards the kitchen. “He told me he spoke to Commander Shore.”

Alan’s ears pricked up. “Commander Shore? Wasn’t he there when Gordon was stationed at Marineville?”

“He was, but he wasn’t Gordon’s direct commanding officer. In any case, Gordon won’t be communicating directly with Marineville. Transmissions from Marineville will come directly from Thunderbird 5.”

“At least that’s something, I guess.” Alan sighed. “I feel like I’m worrying over nothing. I just hope the crew won’t recognize Gordon...”

~~~~~

Gordon idly tapped his sub’s steering wheel. He’d completed his final checks, confirmed his position with Alan, and was now awaiting Virgil’s confirmation to drop the pod. He checked behind his seat to see if he’d remembered to install his diving gear. Although he wasn’t planning on leaving his ‘bird during the rescue, he liked having it close by in case he’d be suddenly called on to take a swim.

 _"You ready Gordon?"_ Virgil’s voice finally crackled over the radio.

"I'm ready!" Gordon chirped back.

_"Right. Dropping pod, now!"_

Gordon braced himself as the stomach of the aircraft fell into the sea with an almighty splash. Once the Pod was buoyant, the door opened ahead of him, allowing him to get a first glimpse of the hurricane that had been battering Virgil’s pride and joy for the past fifteen minutes. 

The sleek pod slide followed the path of the door as it fell into the sea. Gordon ignited his jets which propelled his little submarine down the slide. With a moderate splash, Thunderbird 4 slid gracefully into the murky depths of the ocean. It quickly descended through the waves, its powerful halogen lights igniting through the darkness.

Even underwater he could feel the strength of the hurricane as it disturbed the seabed. Undersea ripples sloshed sediment against his submarine, making for limited visibility. He was practically travelling through a thick wall of fog. 

_“Thunderbird 2 to Thunderbird 4. See anything yet, Gordon?”_

Gordon squinted as the lights of his sub pierced through the cloudy sea. He opened his radio link. “Visibility is practically nil down here, Virg. I can see nothing but sand.”

_“Alright Gordon. Just keep looking.”_

Deciding his best bet would be to dive closer to the seabed, Gordon descended his submarine until it was deep enough not to be disturbed by the hurricane. As he travelled downwards, the sediment cleared up a little, giving him a clearer view. He continued diving until he reached 10,000 feet, by which point the bottom of the sea came into view. 

Everything looked so still at that depth, which Gordon found pretty amazing considering there was a Category 3 hurricane sitting on top of him.

A beep at his controls diverted his attention to the ground proximity scanner, telling him that his vessel had almost reached the seabed. Slowing his speed down, Gordon traversed the bottom of the sea, looking for any sign of the stricken submarine.

After searching for ten minutes or so, Thunderbird 4 came upon a looming shadow resting on a sandy ridge. As it powered closer, the shadow of the object became much bigger and soon the bulbous shape of the bow could be made out. The yellow submarine’s lights illuminated the black writing emblazoned across the side of the bow, confirming the find as the missing vessel.

It was Stingray.

Gordon fired up his radio. “Virgil! I've found her! She's sitting on a ledge at around 10,765 feet! No signs of exterior damage so far. I'm going to move in closer to see if there are any signs of the crew.”

_”Good job Gordon! Hear from you in a bit then.”_

The aquanaut moved his vessel along the entire length of the large submarine, checking for any hull cracks. After confirming that there was no exterior damage, Gordon moved back to the front of the submarine. It was then that he noticed that the large glass panels making up the bridge windows were fogged up with what looked to be a strange green gas. Frowning, Gordon took Thunderbird Four in as close to the submarine as he could without colliding with the panels, trying to work out what the gas was. It didn’t look like anything he’d seen before. 

After failing several times to contact the crew, Gordon recorded his findings to his brothers, who were both as surprised as he was.

 _”And you say it’s a green gas?”_ Scott asked.

“Yeah! Practically luminous green! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

_“And you can’t see inside the bridge?”_

“No, it’s too dense. I’m going to have to expel the gas using the paralyzer’s reverse thrust function. Hopefully then I’ll be able to see the crew. The fact I can’t worries me.”

_”Yeah, me too. Expel the gas into one of your canisters and see if visibility improves. I’ll report your findings to Marineville shortly.”_

“Thanks Scott. Will contact you both once I’ve completed the gas removal.”

 _”Good luck, Gords.”_ Virgil signed off, leaving Gordon alone with his dilemma.

“Right then. Better start making some arrangements.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the next chapter, hope you enjoy!

After letting the rest of his family know his intentions to expel gas from the crippled submarine, Gordon activated Thunderbird 4’s drill and moved it towards Stingray’s cabin. The drill cut a little circle into the bridge wall and Gordon pressed a button that caused the tool to start sucking the green gas out of the submarine. 

He tapped his hand on his control wheel, waiting for all the gas to dissipate. Once complete, Gordon used the thin pipe to fill up the hole in the side with some sturdy waterproof primer that Brains had whipped up beforehand, retracting the pipe back into his submarine. 

Gas now gone, Gordon pulled up ahead of the large submarine, shooting Thunderbird 4’s lights full beam into Stingray's cabin. From the outset it looked abandoned, and none of the crew could be seen, even after he’d leant forward to see if anyone had passed out and were on the floor out of sight.

Confused, he informed his airborne brother of the news. “This is Gordon calling Thunderbird 2, do you read me?”

_“Virgil here. What’s up, Gordon?”_

“I’ve just finished expelling the gas but I can’t see any of the crew!”

 _“You can’t see any of the crew?”_ Virgil parrotted, _“That’s strange. Why might that be?”_

Gordon rubbed his chin, “Well, I guess they could’ve headed towards the airlock when the gas started leaking in. Maybe they passed out in the watertight chamber?”

_“That could be. What’s the plan of action?”_

“I'm going to try and swim across and see if I can board Stingray myself. Maybe the crew are trapped and need assistance.”

_“Alright, just maintain radio contact with me at all times. Are you definitely sure they’re not on the bridge?”_

“Yeah, I’m looking in there now. They must be in the back somewhere. I’ll swim in through the top level exit hatch and have a look around. They may have been incapacitated by that green gas.”

_“Okay Gordon, have a look for them. But be careful.”_

“Always.” Gordon replied, grabbing his diving gear and heading to the back so he could get changed.

~~~~~

A few minutes later, Gordon was ready to disembark. 

“Alright Virgil, I’m heading out now. I’ve attached a line to the top of Stingray and am now going to swim across.” he spoke into his scuba headset’s communicator. 

_“F.A.B, Gordon. Keep in touch.”_

The aquanaut opened the airlock and swam out of the hatch, keeping a hold on the line he’d attached between the two submarines. He feathered his way up the line and as he did so, noticed how bruised and scuffled the large submarine looked from the outside. Wondering what could have happened to the sub, Gordon made his way over to Stingray’s top hatch which dropped into the floodable airlock.

Opening the airlock door, the skilled aquanaut lowered himself into the chamber and sealed the door behind him. He then waited for the seawater to drain out as the airlock repressurized itself. Once it was safe to open, the aquanaut walked down the length of the submarine towards the bow section. 

Gordon looked around the silent submarine. Everything appeared to be dead; the consoles were switched off and there were no immediate signs of the crew, worrying him.

Walking over to the control panel, one of the first things he noticed was that the cabin oxygen tanks were turned off, no longer pumping air into the vessel. 

Frowning, Gordon switched them back on and waited a few moments for them to power up and start circling fresh air around the bridge. Confirming it was now safe to breathe unaided via the dials on his breathing apparatus, Gordon removed his scuba mask and oxygen tanks, leaving them on the co-pilot’s chair.

Moving into the helmsman’s seat to the left, he looked directly ahead through the cahelium bridge window, trying to see if he could spot anything out of the ordinary.

_“This is Thunderbird 2 calling Gordon. Do you read me, kiddo?”_

Gordon jumped as his watch vibrated. He brought it up to his face. “Hey Virgil. I’m inside the craft. Still no sign of the crew.”

_”Alright, just keep looking. I’m calling to let you know that Hurricane Graham has made landfall on the Island of Crete.”_

Gordon felt his heart leap in his chest. “It hasn’t.”

_“I’m afraid so.”_

“Virg, if you need me-“

_”Don’t worry about it right now. The area hit is pretty rural and Scott’s already assisting the local police with the evacuation so it’s all in hand at the moment. If he needs us I’ll call you.”_

“Alright, wish him good luck from me. I’ll call you back if I find the crew.” 

_“Good luck, squirt.”_

Gordon lowered his watch and stood up, leaning over the control panels. He was about to resume his search when something hard struck him on the back of the head. He let out a cry and fell to the floor, his foggy eyes catching a glimpse of a luminescent stranger before everything went black.


End file.
